China Telecom to step up 4G and fixed-line broadband coverage across the mainland
China Telecom, which reported solid gains in its first-quarter earnings results on Thursday, plans to step up its 4G and fixed-line broadband coverage across the country, while deepening its foray into new internet-based businesses.
Yang Jie, the newly appointed chairman and chief executive at China Telecom, said in a regulatory filing that the company aimed for “a breakthrough” in areas such as cloud computing, big data, the internet of things and mobile payment.
“The group will firmly seize new opportunities,” said Yang, who officially replaced former company head Chang Xiaobing on Monday.
China Telecom posted a 1.4 per cent increase in net profit to 5.14 billion yuan (HK$6.14 billion) in the first quarter, up from 5.05 billion yuan in the same period last year, which it said was in line with expectations as both mobile and fixed-line businesses saw revenue growth.
Total revenue rose 6.1 per cent to 86.43 billion yuan from 81.45 billion yuan a year ago.
The company added 4.74 million new mobile subscribers during the quarter to reach a total user base of 202.64 million. The number of 4G handset users in its network reached 74.91 million.
“In the first quarter, China Telecom upgraded 12 per cent of their existing 2G and 3G customer base to 4G,” Bernstein senior analyst Chris Lane said in a report. “As China Telecom has continued to steadily add subscribers over the period, it should continue to show faster revenue growth.”